Jamie Oliver

As the so-called Naked Chef, Jamie has long since established himself as one of the most interesting and well-known chefs of his generation.

Appeal

Though Jamie’s been off the market for quite some time now -- he married Juliette Norton (better known to TV viewers as Jools) in 2000 -- there’s simply no denying his widespread appeal with the ladies. Jamie’s quirky looks, coupled with his self-deprecating personality, have afforded him the reputation of someone who isn’t terribly impressed by material, superficial things. Add to that the fact that he can cook with the best of them, and it’s little wonder that Jamie is considered one of the hottest chefs in history.

Success

Though Jamie will always be best-known in his native England, he has deftly established himself as a worldwide phenomenon thanks primarily to his matinee-idol looks and undeniable charisma. But there’s no doubt that his level of fame continues to climb as he opens more restaurants, writes more books and hosts more television shows. His willingness to take on a variety of paid endorsements for companies has raised his profile exponentially, although he has yet to make his North American commercial debut.

Jamie Oliver Biography

James Trevor Oliver was born on May 27, 1975, in Clavering, Essex, England. Born into a food-conscious family -- his parents owned and operated a pub/restaurant called The Cricketers -- Jamie has been preparing for his current career as a top chef ever since he was a small boy. He began working in the kitchen of The Cricketers once he turned 8, and by the time he was 11, Jamie was an accomplished and skilled chef.

School, on the other hand, was always a problem for young Jamie. Plagued with dyslexia, Jamie eventually grew frustrated with his education and dropped out, choosing instead to sign up for cooking classes at the nearby Westminster Catering College when he was 16 years old. Following his graduation, Jamie moved to France and continued his culinary education there for several years. He returned to England after landing the title of Head Pastry Chef at the prestigious Neal Street Restaurant, where he was to work side by side with his mentor, Gennaro Contaldo.

jamie oliver makes his television debut

Though it’s hard to imagine Jamie Oliver not being on television, the young chef actually stumbled into the gig completely by accident. A documentary crew was filming a behind-the-scenes look at the goings-on in a popular London establishment, The River Café, where Jamie just happened to be working as a chef. As the program started making its way from the editing room to British television screens, Jamie found himself receiving more and more face time due to his ample charisma and natural comfort in front of the camera.

By the time the show premiered, Jamie was fielding phone calls from various producers and production companies, all of whom wanted to put the up-and-coming star on the air immediately. He eventually decided to sign with Optomen Television, and a short while later, The Naked Chef was born. Named after the simplicity of his recipes, the program transformed Jamie into an overnight success and ran for two blisteringly triumphant seasons in 1998 and 1999.

jamie oliver opens his first restaurant

Following the success of The Naked Chef, Jamie decided the time was right to open his own restaurant, but like everything else in his career, he didn’t take the conventional route. Jamie signed a contract with Britain’s Channel 4 to produce a documentary series called Jamie’s Kitchen, which followed his efforts to open his first restaurant, Fifteen. Rather than populate the kitchen with skilled chefs, Jamie instead decided to find and mentor 15 unemployed, disadvantaged youths -- a decision that certainly raised his image among fans and detractors alike. It was also around that time that Jamie married his longtime girlfriend Juliette, and the couple has since had two daughters, Poppy Honey in 2002 and Daisy Boo in 2003.

After becoming a father, Jamie grew concerned over the lack of healthy eating habits among small children, and subsequently cooked up a show called Jamie’s School Dinners. The four-part series followed Jamie as he attempted to completely remake the menu at a British elementary school, eschewing junk food and candy in favor of healthy alternatives. The program led Jamie to create the Feed Me Better campaign, which pledged to similarly change the poor quality of meals in Britain’s various schools. To call the program a success is a wild understatement, as it wasn’t long before the British government promised £280 million over a three-year period to increase the healthiness of school meals.

Even though Jamie was incredibly successful and rich beyond his wildest dreams by this time, he showed no signs of slowing down. In addition to his cooking show Oliver’s Twist, Jamie premiered the travelogue Jamie’s Great Escape in 2005, and began the slow process of opening more Fifteen restaurants around the globe.